


First Dates

by StarTravel



Series: Defiance Through Tenderness [27]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Cultural Differences, First Dates, Fluff and Mush, Massage, Non-Explicit Sex, Of a Certain Kind, POV Multiple, Though More Explicit Than Any of the Earlier Fics, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 07:50:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17463518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarTravel/pseuds/StarTravel
Summary: Julian decides that maybe he and Garak should go back to the start and go on a few dates, wine and dine each other. The fact he comes up with this plan while lying on Garak's chest is neither here nor there.





	First Dates

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: So tragically you can’t tag people on here (as far as I know, if I can let me know haha), so I wanted to note that I realize now the Cardassian Courtship mentioned here is *not* from canon, but actually from Zaan’s delightful series ‘In The Replimat’ which you should go read immediately if you haven’t. 
> 
> Zaan, I can totally edit that part /change it if you want and I’m sorry for not asking/crediting before. It was such a great detail and such a Cardassian way of courtship I thought it was canon, you write everything so brilliantly/your head canons are A+.

 Garak takes a few deep breaths as he wraps his arm lazily around Julian’s slim waist, hand spreading out so his thumb brushes against a sharp hip bone. Julian lies half on the bed and half on on top of him, propped up on one elbow as he stares up at Garak with more adoration than he deserves. Garak swallows deep in his throat, torn between blessing and cursing himself for letting them end up back here.

 Julian glances up at him with a wide smile, gaze somehow at once anxious and playful. Garak can understand the feeling and lets out a low exhale as he tightens his grip on Julian’s waist. “So what now?”

 “Well since we’ve done all of this backwards anyway, I suppose now we should go on a date.” Julian murmurs softly as starts drawing circles around Garak’s chest with his thumb. Then he starts to slowly drag it down his scales, fingers brushing against his soft belly and then back up to rest against his neck. Garak raises an eye ridge, his own hand sliding down Julian’s back to lie just below his hip.

 “A date?” Garak asks with a wry grin as he moves his hand down the side of Julian’s flank to cup Julian’s ass pointedly. He’s not an expert on Federation relationships, but he’s positive that they’ve bypassed the courtship stage there.

 “Yes, a date. I don’t know how courtship works on Cardassia, but in the Federation we’d spend several weeks getting to know each other before we shacked up.” Julian murmurs as he starts drawing another careful pattern along the side of Garak’s chest, fingers carefully tracing but not quite touching any of his scales. His voice comes out teasing and warm, body languid as he stretches out more fully across Garak’s chest. But there’s a nervousness to his gaze that means this is important to Julian, even if it’s for reasons Garak can’t begin to understand.

 Garak raises an eye ridge, lightly smirking as he brushes a hand across Julian’s curls, the other lightly pushing on his back until Julian lies flat against his chest and stomach. Julian looks up at him through his eyelashes from where his head rests on his abdominal ridges, smile positively gleeful. Garak lets out a low scoff, hand tangling lightly in his hair. “On Cardassia you would have to submit yourself to several different tests showing your potential for career and wealth, your personality traits and how compatible they are with mine, and family histories dating back at least several generations.”

 “I don’t believe in personality tests, I find them quite limiting.” Julian murmurs after a moment, voice dismissive and lazy as he shifts so he’s more on Garak than the bed, arms stretching out to start running along his lower neck ridges. There’s just a touch of hesitation in Julian’s voice, a tension along his brow that makes Garak think he shouldn’t run a battery of tests for them both, as much fun as it might have been to see Julian try and argue with the results.

 “Of course you would with your Federation values.” Garak mutters with a derisive scoff, sliding his hand through Julian’s hair as he tilts his head to the right slightly. Better to let Julian think he’s bemused by the Federation’s abandonment and general disapproval of personality tests when terrans used to be obsessed with them than that he suspects the truth. Garak has no interest in seeing Julian spiral into another bout of self-hatred or fear that he’ll end up like Khan or his father because of how the tests read.

 Julian rolls his hips so he can shift up Garak’s body with a grace he rarely has when he’s on two feet and not on a racquetball court, head nuzzling into the space between Garak’s shoulder and head as his legs dangle over Garak’s own and down to the white sheets at the edge of the bed. Julian mouths one of his scales, voice coming out in a lazy sigh.“Well, there’s nothing to be done about it. You’ll have to ask me out.”

 “Excuse me? Why do I have to ask you out?” Garak mutters with mock-offense, raising an eye ridge as he gives Julian’s bottom a firm squeeze. Julian laughs into his neck ridges, the feeling vibrating across his shoulder blades.

 Julian slides his mouth across one of the scales, gaze hooded as he looks up at Garak. He pouts then, lips curling dramatically as he wraps his arms around Garak’s neck. Garak wonders if seducing someone into a date is Federation standard or another thing that’s unique to Julian. “You’re the one who broke things off.”

 “I see.” Garak answers with a hint of a sigh, free hand reaching down to clasp Julian’s other hip. Garak leans up so his mouth brushes against the shell of Julian’s ear as one hand slides further down. “Julian, will you go to the Vulcan restaurant with me tonight?”

 “Why, Elim, I’d love to.” Julian gasps into the side of his jaw, his own hands tightening along the edges of his back ridges. Garak wonders idly if he should tell Julian that this particular technique isn’t Cardassian standard for asking someone out and decides against it in favor of seeing how loudly he can make Julian gasp with just his hands.

* * *

Julian pulls at the edge of his shirt several times as he makes his way towards the Vulcan restaurant, tugging carelessly at the edge of his light blue tunic, the high neckline and sleeves embroidered with silver. Elim made it for him shortly before everything went sideways the first time, caressing the silken material as he draped it across his shoulders. Julian’s hoping for a similar reaction tonight. He wouldn’t want their first date to get off to a bad start.

 First date feels almost silly to say, with the amount of nights they’ve spent in the same bed and now actually physically involved, or even just will all the long lunches and fruitful debates they used to have over them.

 But it’s been months since they’ve truly had one of those, met each other on equal grounds with out the veil of Tain or Julian’s secrets or the war hanging over then. All those things are still there along the edges of course, but they’re not in the center anymore.  Julian wants to see if this thing between them can survive when times are quiet and soft, when there is no fight or mystery to bind them together.

 Though, given that they’ve pseudo-broken up _twice_ in as many months, he’s not sure those things help them much at all either.

 So Julian smiles brightly when he sees Elim walking towards him with a handful of Cardassian lilies, the same rich indigo as Elim’s shirt. They’ve always been Julian’s favorite of the flora there.

 “Flowers? Elim, you shouldn’t have.” Julian calls as he takes a few careful steps toward him, his own hand gripping the chocolates he’s brought a little more tightly. Elim gives him a lingering once over, eyes gliding down his neck and across the slim lines of his chest and waist with clear appreciation. Julian can’t help smiling crookedly as he takes the flowers from Elim hand and holds his chocolates up with the other.

 “Chocolates? I hope they’re fresher than the last box you gave me.” Elim tells him with a wry smile, hands running over the top of the box with a raised eyebrow. Julian lets out a quick laugh, shaking his head as he pushes the box into Elim’s open palms. They are in fact new, and he had to go to three different stores just to find a box of Delvian chocolates, let alone one with nuggets of Bajoran caramel inside. That had taken nearly six. Elim offers his arm and Julian loops his own through it, pressing up against the other man’s side. Elim gives him another once over, grinning down at him with clear interest. “My dear, you look particularly dashing this evening.”

 “I happen to be _very_ well-acquainted with an excellent tailor.” Julian says with a wry grin as he tilts his head to the right. He brings the hand still clutching the flowers comes up to rest on the side of Elim's face, the petals brushing along his jaw. “Shall we?”

 Elim walks him over to a table near the right wall, letting go of his arm with a hint of reluctance. Elim pulls a chair back from the table with a ridiculous level of flourish, spreading his right arm out toward Julian. Julian chortles, shaking his head as he slides into the chair and reminds himself not to show Elim any more ancient films for a few weeks. He never should’ve told him he reminded him of a cross between James Bond and Cary Grant.

 Julian watches the way Elim rolls his shoulders, favoring his left one and shaking his hands out twice. Too much coding and sewing in cramped spaces couldn’t be good for his back. Julian doesn’t realize he’s staring until he feels the heavy pause between them, the silence bordering on awkward when Elim smiles brightly. “So, how was work today my dear? Did you discover any new cures? Make any discoveries in your research?

 “Actually, I’m almost finished with my paper on the ride in asymmetric levels of deoxyribose levels in children born to Trill and human parents.” Julian starts before he can stop himself, eyes lighting up as the details spill from his lips. It really has been the most exciting discovery and he’s had no one to share it with except Jadzia. Julian loses himself in the explanation, hands moving across the table as his excitement grows. It’s not until he starts explaining the protein differentials in Trills and Klingons that he realizes Elim, who has been patiently smiling and nodding along with a strange glimmer to his eye, _might_ be bored. “And that is why I think it has major potential for the development of Symbiont - I’m talking too much, aren’t I?”

 “No, not at all. I was quite enthralled, actually.” Elim assures him in a voice that’s more tender than Julian expects, his gaze open in a way Garak’s - Elim’s rarely is. Julian swallows nervously and looks down at his plate, willing the flush he can feel on his neck from spreading to his face as well.

 Julian takes a deep breath and looks up to meet Elim's eyes, still warm and curious in a way that confounds Julian. Julian tries to make his voice airy, brushing one hand in the air in a careful imitation of Elim himself. “Were you? I didn’t know you were so interested in DNA restructuring, Elim.”

 Elim tilts his head to the right, a hint of mirth coming into his gaze along with the care Julian finds so off putting. “I didn’t say I was enthralled with the subject matter. Your passion for medicine and how much you ramble on about it -”

 “Is irresistibly sexy?” Julian asks dryly before he can stop himself, grin turning rueful as he lets his gaze slide to the table. The silverware is almost an exact match for the threading along the edge of his sleeves, the colors mirroring and reflecting each other’s intricate patterns. Maybe if Julian stares at them for long enough, Elim will be merciful and pretend he didn’t say anything.

 “I was going to say adorable.” Elim corrects him with a tone he normally reserves for _The Never-Ending Sacrifice._ Julian tentatively looks up from the silverware. He bites his lip as a as he takes in the sheer affection in Elim's gaze and rush of emotions goes through him.

 A touch of irritated disbelief rushes through him first, because no one finds his pet interests and long rambles _endearing_ , not even Miles and he likes Julian even more than his wife. Then there’s a brief feeling of dread that Elim is lying to him. But they’re both quickly replaced by a hope that swells deep in his chest. All over the possibility that Elim means it, that Elim thinks one of the _annoying_ things about Julian that he’s never been able to rid himself of no matter how hard he tries is adorable instead of frustrating.

 Julian closes his eyes for a few seconds and takes several measured breaths. Then he opens his eyes and meets Elim’s gaze, still tender and soft in a way Julian wouldn’t have thought Elim could be a year ago. He lets the hope in his chest blossom into happiness, sliding his hand across the table so he can grasp Elim’s with his own. “Close enough, I suppose.”

 Julian and Elim spend the rest of dinner bickering over a book of Trill short stories Jadzia lent them, long rants and bright smiles passing between them with an ease Julian’s never shared with anyone else. He wonders if softness and quiet suits them both better then he’d ever imagined.

* * *

Garak doesn’t see Julian at all the next day, no quick visits to his shop or waves from the hallway. He’s tempted to barge into the infirmary pretending he has a headache when Nog of all people walks into his store, a white envelope in his hand. Garak half expects to open it to a face full of poison, but instead finds an invitation in Julian’s elegant script asking him to meet him at 20:00 at holosuite 3.

 Garak can’t help the slight smile that comes over his face, even if a part of him isn’t looking forward to spending a night playing Bond. So he has to admit it’s a delightful surprise to find himself walking into a Cardassian sauna instead.

 Garak glances around the holosuite, eyes widening as he takes in the vista in front of him, the familiar chestnut stones and slabs of rock that filled the Cardassian saunas he frequented growing up. They’re all slightly different in size and shape and layout than the one he visited with Ziyal once, the slab in the center of the room just the right size for he and Julian to lie on it together.

There are lights hanging around the space, sparkling crystals dangling down and letting out a soft light that made the entire room glow with a soft haze. Heavy blankets lie across the floor of the room, in rich, vibrant crimsons and deeper hues of indigo and violet that match the tapestries along either wall. The room is heavy with the scent of kanar and fresh red tea leaves, with just a hint of the citrus and sulfur of the Cardassian baths.

  And in the center of the room stands Julian in a flowing white tunic, cut scandalously low at the neckline and a pair of unfortunately hideous chartreuse shorts and nothing else. Garak swallows as he watches those slender legs walk toward him, the way the shirt edges off one of his wiry shoulders. Garak coughs low in the back of his throat, holding his hands out wide, palm front as he tries to catch his bearings. “Julian, I must admit that I’m surprised. When I got your note asking me to meet you in the holodeck, I was expecting something less … refined.”

 “I’m going to ignore that.” Julian mutters as he shakes his head, gaze darting over Garak playfully as he reaches an arm out toward him. Garak takes Julian’s outstretched hand, appreciating the hot skin against his palm and the way Julian squeezes his hand like a life line. Julian walks them the small distance between the doorway to the rocks in the center of the room, pointedly running a hand across the tense muscles of his upper shoulders. “Now here, lie down on the rocks and let me take care of you. Unless you’d prefer to start with the kanar.”

 Garak raises an eye ridge as he climbs on to the rock and then spreads out his limbs with a lazy elegance, propping himself up on his elbows so he can watch Julian circle the rock and the way the light makes the thin line of sweat around his clavicle gleam. Garak unbuttons the top of his shirt and carries on with a careful preciness. It wouldn’t be right for Julian to be the only one scandalously dressed after all. Garak smirks and presses his eye ridges together. “Why not both?”

 “You are a decadent thing.” Julian tuts in a voice full of mock-disapproval, shaking one finger in the air carefully even as he saunters over to the bar. Garak has a strong suspicion that Julian’s walking so slowly to give him the best possible view of his lithe thighs. Garak smirks slightly, gaze growing hooded as he considers that he could get used to this kind of decadence.

 “Two glasses?” Garak calls when he sees Julian sit two glasses side by side on the bar, filling each with the same sweet liquid. Julian picks them and twists around, bending over and sliding one glass in front of Garak’s bent arms. He crawls on to the rock so he’s kneeling next to him, a steady hand suddenly gliding across his back in search of knots.

 “I’m developing something of taste for it.” Julian murmurs into his ear, lips neck brushing against the scales along his neck. Then he pulls back so Garak can see his face from where his head still rests on his bent arms. Julian’s fingers come to stop over a particularly tight scale, tapping it gently as though that will let him remember which one it is. But then again it might, he's never fully understood how that delightful brain of Julian’s works.

Garak glances over his shoulder and watches as Julian picks up his own glass of kanar, carefully swirling the liquid in the glass in a clockwise pattern. Then he takes a small sip. Garak furrows his brow, watching as Julian doesn’t curl his lips or scrunch his face together the way most non-Cardassians do at the taste. He’s at least learned to _stand_ it and that’s more than Garak anticipated. “Are you now? That’s quite unexpected.”

 Julian grins as he sets his glass back down, leaning over so he’s looking up at Garak as his right hand starts kneading one of the knots with gentle strokes. Julian’s gaze is positively smug as his smile widens with each touch. “Surprising you twice in one day? That must be some kind of record.”

 “it is for _you_ anyway.” Garak scoffs as he lowers his arms down to lie more fully on the rock. Garak savors the contrast between his own soft stomach and the hard rock below, as well as the way the same stone felt smooth against his scales. Julian makes a noise of affront as he twists around so Garak can only see part of the amused grin on his face, both his hands coming to rest on Garak’s back.

 “Careful, Elim. Your scales are literally in my hands.” Julian reminds him as he presses more firmly on the knot in his upper back, and Garak lets out a noise halfway between a moan and a growl deep in his throat.

 Garak laughs once it’s passed, settling into the feel of Julian’s hands working out the tension in his shoulders and upper back. If this Julian’s idea of a threat, he hopes the Doctor makes several more. “And that should worry me?”

 “I am a dangerous man.” Julian says in near perfect Kardasi, only the stilted accent keeping him from sounding natural. Garak’s eyes widen as he twists his head back on his arms to watch Julian, who smiles brightly as he realizes he’s surprised Garak for her a third time. This actually _is_ a record, though he’s not going to tell Julian that.

 Julian is learning Kardasi, has spent the last few days or weeks carefully memorizing the words and syntax, the lilting qualities of each word. It wouldn’t take Julian long, with his quick mind and perfect recall. That he only started recently, only after he and Garak finally bridged the gap between friends and lovers. It implies a hope for a future between them, of Julian following Garak down to the heated deserts and oases of Cardassia.

 Garak wonders if Julian even realizes that, or if his intentions are as hidden to him as they were to Garak until a few seconds ago.

 “Especially to me.” Garak whispers as he closes his eyes, focusing on the sound of Julian’s bright laugh as it spreads through the air. He can see the way Julian throws his head back slightly, feel the slight shake of his hands as they glide over his shoulder, laughter running through his full body. Garak smiles at the sound even though he should be terrified and he’s not really sure why.

* * *

“So what happens on the third date?” Garak asks in a low voice as they spread out across the rocks, empty bottle of kanar lying at their feet. Julian rests his head on Garak’s now bare shoulder, the white tunic wrinkled and hanging off one of his shoulders in a way that’s feels strangely revealing. Their legs are entangled together, Julian rubbing his ankle along one of the scales on Garak’s calves.

 “You move into my quarters.” Julian nuzzles against Garak’s neck, voice light and playful on the off chance Garaks changed his mind. There’s no answer for a beat, Garak’s hands stilling where they had been rubbing circles into his hip bones. Julian swallows tightly, An almost comforting sense of awkwardness filling him. “Or not. It’s really - you can -“

Garak cuts him off with a kiss, slow and soft and proving that the Cardassian neck muscles were far more flexible than Julian gave them credit for. Then Garak gives Julian a wide grin as he lays a hand across the other man’s shoulder, squeezing down firmly. He brings the other hand to pat Julian’s cheek twice in quick succession, voice lowering an octave as he gives Julian a sharp look. “You’ll remember I wanted to do that before any of these bouts of escapism. It just seemed rather fast, from what I’ve read in your Terran novels.”

 “I - well - I suppose it is but we did technically have a week long date in Risa, so really this is our fourth.” Julian splutters, one of his hands coming up to bat at an invisible thread in the air. Garak gives him a fond smile and presses his hand back against Julian’s cheek. Julian gives him a smile that borders on shy, gaze sweetly hopeful in a way even he finds saccharine as he brings his own hand up to rest against Garak’s cheek on the opposite side.

Garak presses their foreheads together, the lines and curves of his chula pressing into julian’s smoother skin. Julian feels delight blossom in his chest, grinning widely as the last of his nerves are burned away by the warmth of Garak’s breath on his lips. “Well then, how could I refuse?”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and questions are welcome! :)


End file.
